Wing food drive kicks-off - you ‘can’ make a difference Published Sept. 9, 2009 By Staff Sgt. Michael W. Pierce 349th Air Mobility Wing TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The 349th Air Mobility Wing Chaplain Corps is beginning the 2009 Annual Food Drive earlier this year with the hopes of making our largest holiday donation ever. The plan is that we will be collecting food between September A-Flight and December B-Flight. Did you realize that if every member of our Wing brought in just one can to donate we would have approximately 3,000 pounds of food to donate to Mission Solano? So, if everyone brought two cans - well you do the math and you can see that with a little effort we could make a huge difference. One extra can of food each time you go shopping would only add about one dollar or less to your grocery bill. Another way to donate is by going through your cabinets and pantry to see what you probably won't need or by rotating the foods in emergency preparedness kits before it is expired. Last year's wing efforts collected 4,230 pounds of food for Mission Solano - a great collection to help out in our local community. As you should know from past food drives, collection bins are in public areas of the wing's buildings. Bins should, with final approvals, be in place by September A-Flight. If you would like to track your unit's donations in case your unit is interested in some friendly competition this year: a bin holds approximately 200 pounds of canned foods or a bin with half cans and half dry goods, such as pasta or rice, holds around 100 pounds. The most needed and requested food items by local food banks are cereal, oatmeal, pasta, tomato sauce, beans, canned meats, as well as canned fruits and vegetables. These items supply ingredients for a balanced meal and are given to those in need, as well as used for meals prepared and served at food bank locations. Although, cereal and other dry goods do not have the weight of canned items, even with a healthy competition, don't lose sight of the real goal - those types of items are vitally needed. The wing chaplain's office will keep information on the 2009 Food Drive continuously updated on the Chaplain SharePoint page which you can access from your office computer. We thank you in advance for the generosity of all of you who help our community each and every year. For more information or questions, please contact the wing chaplain's office at 707-424-0308 or email me, Staff Sgt. Michael W. Pierce at michael.pierce-02@travis.af.mil.